216 Bearded Dragons Master Imitators

Herpetological Highlights

A clever new experiment has shown that bearded dragons can learn skills by copying other dragons. Then we have a brand new orange and black newt species.

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Main Paper References:

Kis A, Huber L, Wilkinson A. 2015. Social learning by imitation in a reptile (Pogona vitticeps). Animal Cognition 18:325–331. DOI: 10.1007/s10071-014-0803-7.

Species of the Bi-Week:

Pomchote P, Peerachidacho P, Khonsue W, Sapewisut P, Hernandez A, Phalaraksh C, Siriput P, Nishikawa K. 2024. The seventh species of the newt genus Tylototriton in Thailand: a new species (Urodela, Salamandridae) from Tak Province, northwestern Thailand. ZooKeys 1215:185–208. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1215.116624.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Folt B, Marshall M, Emanuel JA, Dziadzio M, Cooke J, Mena L, Hinderliter M, Hoffmann S, Rankin N, Tupy J, McGowan C. 2022. Using predictions from multiple anthropogenic threats to estimate future population persistence of an imperiled species. Global Ecology and Conservation 36:e02143. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02143.

Loope KJ, Akçakaya HR, Shoemaker KT. 2024. Inflated predictions from a flawed model influenced the decision to deny federal protection for the gopher tortoise. Global Ecology and Conservation 54:e03089. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03089.

Folt B, Marshall M, Emanuel JA, Dziadzio M, Cooke J, Mena L, Hinderliter M, Hoffmann S, Rankin N, Tupy J, McGowan C. 2024. Strengths and opportunities in gopher tortoise population modeling: Reply to Loope et al. Global Ecology and Conservation 54:e03093. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03093.

Other Links/Mentions:

Learn JR. 2024.Research challenges gopher tortoise listing decision. Available at https://wildlife.org/research-challenges-gopher-tortoise-listing-decision/ (accessed December 5, 2024).

Editing and Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Intro visuals – Paul Snelling